How to Trust God at All Times (Psalm 62:5-8)
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I want to encourage someone today who has felt in any way beaten down and battered by circumstance, by relationships, by life. I want to encourage someone today who is struggling to actively trust the Lord, as in someone who is struggling to live out their trust in God. Maybe you’re in a spot right now where it’s hard to trust God, maybe you feel shaken, and maybe you feel uncertain of God’s presence in your life, at times doubting what His plan is for you and how He’s going to make the mess that is your life right now a masterpiece.
If any of that hits home for you today, please know I’ve been there too recently. And even better, so has David. That brings me to Psalm 62, a Psalm written by David when scholars believe he was on the run from his son Absalom, who had rebelled against him and sought to take David’s throne.
David was beaten and battered by circumstance, and he certainly was beaten and battered by relationship. I mean Absalom was his son - someone David loved deeply, who had turned on him and hurt him. I think David’s life as of writing Psalm 62 could be easily classified as a mess, and I’m certain David struggled to trust God here, as it seemed like his life had been flipped on its head in the way you’d least expect it. I’m sure David wrestled with thoughts like:
"God, what are you doing?"
"God, where are You at work here?"
"I’m hurting, I’m stuck in the waiting, I don’t see you in this, I can’t do this, Lord."
"Where and when are You going to turn this around, God?"
"Are You ever going to turn this around?"
Man, we've all wrestled with questions like that, don’t lie, and I’m sure some of you may be there right now. And let me just say I’m so encouraged by David’s faith and his prayer here in this Psalm, as he clearly is wrestling with so much, and I think it can encourage you too.
Let’s look at verses 5-7:
‘For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.’
There are three points I want to make from these verses, the first being one of exclusivity.
Trust in God Is Exclusive.
David says, "For God alone… For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him."
All that David needs, all that he desires, all that he yearns for, he gets from his God. It’s as if David is saying, "Come what may - let my family betray me, let my enemies attack me, let my life seemingly crumble under my feet, but O my soul, wait for God, and God alone. Sit at His feet until He moves and shows himself strong on your behalf, and He will. O my soul, wait for God, and God alone."
David continues this exclusivity in the next verse when he says God "only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken."
Only God is David’s rock, salvation, and fortress. Those who don’t trust God alone don’t trust God at all. Why? Because His character is worthy of complete and exclusive trust. Now I’m not saying that you can’t trust other people, but I am saying that trust in God alone should be sufficient for you. One commentator on this said:
"He that stands with one foot on a rock, and another foot upon a quicksand, will sink and perish, as certainly as he that standeth with both feet upon a quicksand."
David knew this, and therefore he earnestly called upon his soul to trust only upon God.
So David’s trust in God is exclusive. That’s point one. But It’s also personal.
Trust in God Is Personal.
When we read verses 6 and 7, we see God described as a rock, salvation, fortress, glory, and refuge. But we also see David embrace each of these truths about God personally. They become his own.
David says, "God is my rock and my salvation… On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God."
Spurgeon says that David was not "content to know that the Lord is all these things; he acts in faith towards Him, and lays claim to Him under every character." It wasn’t enough for David to know intellectually that God was a rock, salvation, refuge—no, no. David knew God to be his rock, his salvation, his refuge.
This trust was personal. And evidently this increased David’s faith. That’s the last thing I want to point out. I love this; look at this:
David in verse 2 of this Psalm says ‘He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.’
Then in verse 6, which we just read, David repeats this verse, but he leaves out one word. He says ‘He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.’
Notice that? In verse 2, David says, "I shall not be greatly shaken." But in verse 6, he says, "I shall not be shaken." He leaves out ‘greatly’ in verse 6.
David went from, "I won’t be greatly moved" to, "I won’t be moved at all."
Notice that increase in faith! That’s powerful, and it shows us that our faith grows as we lean into God and remind ourselves of His exclusive and personal role in our lives. By illuminating his exclusive trust in God and reminding himself of the intimate and personal nature of it, David has all the more confidence to look at his unsettling and uncertain life circumstances and say ‘I will not be moved’.
Again I love me some Spurgeon. He says ‘What strength faith gives to a man, and what strength prayer gives to a man! We may begin our supplication tremblingly, but as we draw near to God we become confident in him, and filled with holy boldness.’
I love that! I LOVE IT! A prayer that David began rocky, has now landed on the solid Rock. And it is with this confidence that leads David to say in verse 8:
‘Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.’
Trust in him at all times O people! Trust in him at all times y’all!
I don’t know exactly what challenges you’re facing right now, I don’t know how I could possibly know. But regardless I can share David’s advice: 'Trust in Him at all times.' In your darkest moments, during the hardest times when everything feels hopeless - when you lose someone or something you hold most dear, or just when you're enduring some of life’s most difficult moments - hold on to your trust in the Lord. No matter what, hold on. 'Trust in Him at all times, O people’.
And what does that look like practically? I think the second part of verse 8 gives us some insight.
David says ‘pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us’.
That’s how you exercise trust in God right there. You take your heart, turn it upside down like kids do with their Halloween bags once they’ve gotten all their candy, and pour out all that it is in it. Don’t hold back anything. Let it all out.
It’s funny for me to say that because right now I’m in a songwriting class at UNC, which I know I’ve mentioned before, and we’ve come to write our final songs which will be performed at a bar in like a month.
And in my last song, I’ve written a chorus that starts like this:
‘Come to Jesus / Lay your worries down / Come to Jesus / You can let it all out’
My dear friend, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, trust God. Pour out your heart before Him. You can let it all out. Maybe you’re in your car, on a walk, or sitting at home feeling worn down - and maybe you feel like the enemy truly has been kicking you around, I don’t know. Regardless, please remember this: God sees you. He loves you. And He wants you to pour out your heart before Him. He is your refuge, your strength, your rock, and He is faithful. He really wants you to let it all out.
Maybe for you that’s taking five minutes to sit in your car after a tough day and talk to God honestly, like you would a close friend. Or maybe it's journaling all those bottled-up thoughts. Or simply letting the tears fall as you sit in His presence. It looks different for everyone.
But the key is this: don’t hold back. God wants it all, He wants all of you - all of the pain, the questions, the confusion. Pour it all out.
God’s shoulders are big enough for your burdens, His arms are strong enough to hold you, and His love is deep enough to carry you through.
Whatever you’re facing, trust in Him.
Trust Him exclusively - don’t try to stand on two foundations when only one will hold you up.
Trust Him personally - lean into Him and make that trust your own.
And trust Him completely - pour out your heart before Him, let it all out, and let Him meet you where you are.
Trust in him at all times, my friend. Psalm 62:5-8.
I love you all. Have a wonderful Friday. God bless.
